New JCOPE ‘reportable’ guidelines, info for candidates

Below are the updated guidelines on what lobbyists and state employees including lawmakers must report in terms of relationships that they have with lobbyists. The rules, which the JCOPE board just unanimously approved, have been tweaked a bit to deal with what would have been some unworkable requirements — for instance if a lawmaker or state employee has a credit card with a company that uses a lobbyist, that doesn’t need to be reported.

What JCOPE’s Executive Director Ellen Biben termed “sweetheart deals” between lobbyists and state employees, though, need to be reported.

Additionally, Biben said they’ll be posting as early as this week a list of candidates, for both statewide office and the Legislature, who haven’t filed their financial disclosures with JCOPE.